Objective

Ferdosi Society is an organization dedicated to fostering the scholarly study of the Shahnameh, the historic epic work of Ferdosi. Hakim AbulQassem Ferdosi was the great thinker, humanitarian, and poet of the tenth-century Iran. 

The main objective of Ferdosi Society is to allow people with various backgrounds and religious affiliations to come together and study this literary masterpiece. As Ferdosi himself strove to minimize the religious and political influence on the Shahnameh, we also make every possible attempt to follow in his footsteps and uphold his teachings. 

Meetings

Ferdosi Society meets between the hours of 6 and 9 PM on the second, fourth and fifth Fridays of the month. The meetings on the second and fourth Fridays are devoted to reading the Shahnameh. The third meeting only takes place in the months with five Fridays, usually once every quarter. This meeting is devoted to open discussions and informative presentations on subjects related to the Shahnameh or to the Iranian culture. All the meetings are conducted in Farsi and are free and open to the public. 

Through the relentless efforts of Effat Yousefi, the meetings have been held regularly since February 1998. The meetings are currently held at room MCC-15, at De Anza Community College in Cupertino, California. The Shahnameh meetings are conducted in the following manner. 

Two volunteers would start by reading the verses assigned to them and explain the difficult verses. The rest of the group would then take turns reading a few verses each. Nasser Pol oversees, or facilitates, the group readings and discussions. At the end of the meeting, two people would be sought to volunteer for reading at the following meeting. 

Special Meetings: From time to time, Ferdosi Society may hold special meetings to listen to a scholar of the Persian literature, or to remember and recognize such a scholar for his contributions. Every year, on the first Friday after January 3rd, Ferdosi's birthday, Ferdosi Society holds a special meeting to celebrate the Hakim's birthday. 

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is responsible for all the affairs, and for shaping the future direction of the Society. On August 24, 2001, the initial three-member Board was elected for a six-month term.  The Board members were Pedram Karbassi, Masood Mokhtary, and Effat Yousefi.  Their term ended in February 2002. 

In the general elections, on February 22, 2002, Masood Mokhtary, Nooshi Nayak, and Nasrollah Pourfathi were elected to the Board; and Nasser Pol was elected as the alternate member of the Board; all for a one-year term, ending in February 2003.

Participation has been the key element in making this organization a success. We highly recommend and encourage participation in the meetings. The board relentlessly strives to improve the quality of our gatherings. We encourage suggestions from all participants.